How much sodium is good?

I had a grilled stuff steak burrito (minus rice) at Taco Bell the other day. It was delicious and not too terrible an indulgence, with about 600 calories and 25 grams of fat. Even though it has 73 carbs, it also has 30 grams of protein. But then there’s the sodium: 1930mg. For one burrito! That’s almost an entire day of recommended sodium.

The American Diabetes Association recommends keeping daily sodium intake at 2400mg or lower: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-cholesterol/faqs-sodium.jsp. OK, give it a try.

Fast food is notorious, but more for calories, carbs, and fat than sodium. Diabetics have to be careful about blood sugar levels and especially spikes, but we also have to carefully watch our sodium intake. High blood pressure precedes heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. So we have to be wary not only of sweets, but of any packaged breads, canned foods, frozen convenience foods, restaurant food, or anything else that’s both convenient and tasty–including fast food. It’s all high in sodium.

I recently purchased a package of Mission multi-grain taco tortillas that contained 460mg of sodium…each. After I read all the nutrition information, I threw the package away. I will include more information about Mission tortillas (which I generally like) in a future entry.

For frozen meals, I’ve noticed that only the Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine LInes seem to care about keeping sodium levels decent–about 600mg or less per serving. Lean Cuisine will go higher if you choose the larger entrees. I will provide a comparison table of frozen meals in a future entry. One meal I wholeheartedly endorse, and which might surprise you, is the family size serving of Stouffer’s Lasagne. The one in the red package. It serves 5 (about 1 cup each), and is fairly low in calories (270) and carbs. And even the sodium content (770mg) isn’t that bad. So when you need a quick and easy meal, serve it up with a salad and diet dressing, and you can feel pretty good about it.

The bottom line: If you want to keep sodium levels consistently reasonable, you’re going to have to cook. Here are a few items that help us keep cooking at home simple while keeping the sodium low.

-Sodium-free bouillon, both chicken and beef flavor (I like the packets versus the jars, but both are good)
-Small jars of dried or ground herbs (so they stay fresher): rosemary, bay leaves, bouquet garni, cumin
-McCormick Salt Free and Less Sodium Seasonings: we love Montreal Steak 25% less sodium for steaks and use Spicy or Lemon & Pepper on roasts or sauteed meats
-If you’re not drinkers and you can have alcohol, keep a few small bottles of wine (Cost Plus World Market sells the small bottles individually) around for adding to roasts, stews, soups
-Salt free or reduced sodium canned products: I’ve found tomatoes, green beans, and mushrooms

Partial takeout is another option. Grocery stores are full of convenience items these days, and most of them are really, really high in sodium. But some aren’t. I love Safeway’s deli meatloaf. Each 3 oz serving (which is a little small for us) contains 200 calories, 11g fat, 6g net carb, and 460mg sodium. That’s high sodium, but not so high for a convenience food. Serve with small white potatoes baked in the microwave and a few vegetables (we keep lots of bags of sodium-free vegetables in the freezer).